Verizon applauds FCC decision to authorize stronger robocall blocking

Once again, we’re putting robocallers on notice.  We’ve got their number and we’re taking big steps to stop them from doing what they’re doing.

The Federal Communications Commission today voted to authorize communications companies to provide robocall blocking -- by default. It’s welcome news because we well know that consumers are fed up with being bombarded by spam robocalls, and they deserve every protection available.

It’s all about providing our customers with more choice and control. Verizon plans to do what it takes to protect our customers from these annoying calls.  Verizon’s wireless customers can already choose to automatically block robocalls for free using our industry-leading Call Filter service, which sends the blocked calls directly to voicemail based on whatever category that the consumer selects. We’re also in the process of making our Call Filter service even better.  As we continue to evolve the service, we intend to take advantage of the new flexibility the FCC is giving us.  With the help of these new FCC rules, we’ll be able to provide our customers the benefits of spam alerts and blocking more broadly and conveniently.

Last month, in a welcome act of bipartisanship, the US Senate passed the TRACED Act by a sweeping 97-1 vote. The Act requires all service providers to implement a technology called “STIR/SHAKEN” that helps verify whether the Caller ID info that pops up with a call is accurate.  Verizon is already deploying this technology, and in fact we have enhanced our customers’ Call Filter blocking experience by using the results of our authentication process to help better decide whether particular calls are spam. Verizon strongly supports a law mandating call authentication by all carriers because our customers can only get validated Caller ID if the carrier sending calls to them has also implemented the technology.

We firmly believe today marks another milestone in our effort to stop robocallers. We know, however, there’s more to do and we are firmly committed to doing what it takes.  We know we haven’t won the war yet, but Verizon is mobilizing to fight it on multiple fronts.